AKQA ANZ CCO Tara McKenty named One Show 2026 Jury President, Sustainable Development Goals

Tara McKenty, Chief Creative Officer at AKQA ANZ, has been named Jury President for the Sustainable Development Goals Pencil discipline in The One Show 2026.

Jury Presidents lead judging for each discipline, and have a vote on the work.

The complete confirmed list of global creative leaders selected as One Show 2026 Jury Presidents can be viewed here.  Jury Presidents for Brand-Side/In-House and Gaming will be announced along with the full jury in December.

“The One Show’s reputation is built on the integrity of its juries and judging process,” says Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. “This year’s Jury Presidents will help further this legacy of the fairest and most positive judging process.”

Entries to the overall One Show 2026 can be submitted now, with fees increasing after each deadline period.  Super-early entry deadline for the greatest savings is October 31, 2025.  Early entry deadline is December 12, 2025, with the regular deadline January 23, 2026.  The extended deadline is February 6, 2026, and final deadline February 20, 2026.

Early judging starts in January 2026, and finalists will be announced in May 2026.  Crystal, Gold, Silver and Bronze Pencil and Merit winners will be announced in May during Creative Week 2026 in New York.

Debuting this year within The One Show 2026 is The One Show Indies, dedicated to celebrating the work of independent agencies, design firms, production houses, and creators.  The One Show Indies is open exclusively to agencies with truly independent ownership: a minimum 51% owned by founders or staff, and no more than four physical offices. 

The One Show Indies was created to make the global spotlight of a prestigious One Show Pencil win even more accessible to a larger playing field of independent agencies, studios, freelancers, creators, and other creative companies. 

All winning entries are showcased in the archive, and viewable for free for one year.  All One Show winners also receive a complimentary one-year membership to The One Club, as well as full access to the complete One Show archive, made up of more than 250,000 award-winning entries from the past 25 years.

Agencies, brands, production companies, and individuals responsible for winning work each year are highlighted in The One Show Creative Rankings, as well as The One Club’s Global Creative Rankings, which combines points won at The One Show, ADC Annual Awards, Type Directors Club TDC competition, Art Directors Club of Europe (ADCE) Awards, and ONE Asia Creative Awards.  Winners are ranked globally, regionally, and by country.

As a nonprofit organization, The One Club puts revenue generated from The One Show entries back into the industry to fund programming under the nonprofit organization’s four pillars: Education, Inclusion & Diversity, Gender Equality, and Creative Development.

For more information and to enter, please visit The One Show 2026.